Rx Burn Training Coordination Session

Rx Burn Training Coordination Session

Estimated # of participants: 30

(Also refer to the Fire Interagency Resource Exchange notes -- previous session)

There is an agreed need for standardization and coordination.

Federal agencies have very strict guidelines which makes it difficult/impossible to utilize volunteers and assisting agencies that do not have the recognized training.

State Certification of contractors and vendors came up in previous conversations/sessions and continues.

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has been checking into the insurance issues. If a State Certification were to be enacted this could limit the liability concerns.

There is a definite advantage and potential to being able to work together.

Let’s create something that fits us; that is unique to Iowa’s needs!!!!!

Agreed, but it has to be done in increments. First let’s get some base training. -- Potentially come in with trainers to train future trainers and get the agency staff that are dealing with the public/landowners up to speed so that they can provide sound advice and directions regarding landowner needs.

If we can get staff trained by certified/qualified/recognized trainers, that will remove many of the bureaucratic road blocks.

For the feds to be involved we must proceed with the minimum basic federal requirements (i.e., S-130, S-190, and the pack test).

Daryl Smith is a qualified trainer for the federal courses, also Dan Dearborn, Jerry (retired from the Hoover), we also have connections to qualified trainers via the Big River Fire Compact, and through TNC and other associated governmental agencies. There is also an interest to get someone qualified at Drake University.

Although the concept may be different than the direction that the discussion is addressing, The WHY, HOW and CONCERNS -- FIRE EFFECTS is a needed topic to be addressed in dealing not only with landowners but with professionals. -- There is a need for fire history and fire ecology and functional burn workshops that will additionally provide education as to why burning is necessary/important. There is lots of interest in this!!

The directions that we need to be taking for staff type folks (and interested others):

BASIC S-130, S-190 (pack test?)
FIRE EFFECTS
RX FIRE Planning and implementation

THE FIRST STEP IS TO GET STAFF & CONTRACTORS TRAINED!

It was suggested that a cooperative traveling burn crew to assist landowners with their burns.

Through the State Fire Marshall’s office -- create some structure and training to the volunteer/community fire departments regarding the needs, how and why, of Rx burning on the landscape and the suppression techniques, etc. -- they are considerably uninformed.

There is a fire training office in Ames (?Fire Extension?) -- Pauline has already put the bug of coordination in his ear and he is currently willing to disseminate I&E pubs. Pauline has his card/number.

If the County Conservation Boards (CCB’s)would get the basic training -- they could be communicating with the volunteer/community fire departments.

Roadside Managers are gearing up for fire training. They have arranged for Bob Stanton, Illinois private fire consultant, to provide them with a 2-day training workshop (Roadside Managers are the priority recipients).

If the CCB’s can get on board, they can utilize their naturalists to assist with educational concerns and interpretation. -- CCB’s can also serve as the example setters. -- Loren warns that doing "spectator burns" can be very dangerous. -- Be cautious about proceeding here.

Dan Dearborn offered to get the guidelines of the State Certification process that Florida utilizes.

Those aware of The Nature Conservancy approach to training believe that it is a very useful training approach and a well structured process. The TNC training is also structured to dealing with the appropriate fuel types that we are interested in. They also address the suppression training for these fuel types.

There was some concern that the Federal S-130/S-190 courses would address fuels that would not be appropriate to the fuels that we have. Dan confirmed that the trainer has the ability/responsibility to tailor the training for appropriate fuels. -- Dan generally teaches

S-130 (TOOL USE)
S-190 (FIRE BEHAVIOR)
_____ STANDARDS FOR SURVIVAL

Agencies and Groups that we need to include:

DNR - Forests & Prairies; Wildlife; Unit Managers -- others?
NRCS
CCB’s
Fed’s
Extension -Fire
Corps
County Roadside Managers
TNC
Consultants/Contractors

Roslea J. : Community Colleges can be a very useful mechanism in organizing and running these training sessions. They can provide the locations/publicity/registration/ housing/continuing education certification, etc., etc. -- to reduce the load of organizing of such training sessions.

BY THE WAY, WHERE IS THE REPRESENTATION FROM THE DNR WILDLIFE/UNIT MANAGERS, etc.????

Other names of people to involve are: Jim Pease (ISU Wildlife Ext.); Tom Rosberg with DRAKE is also interested.

Feds often offer courses to their staff and may have spaces open to include others?

Pauline proposes that a working group be formed. This group needs to include a representative from all the interested agencies/groups to develop a cooperative process of training and guideline development for a potential "state certification".

Really we are really looking at 3 levels of conversation here:

making training available for existing organizations that are ready to go
ecological/fire effects training
private landowner training

There is a definite niche here for contractors/vendors & thus we come back to a need for the certification process.

BIG OBSTACLE: All of the agencies are already stretched very thin with their current demands and are, on their own properties, only managing only a very small percentage of the lands. Will we convince our agencies to allow us to bring to the cooperative table what must be brought to allow this process to be successful (i.e., time and resources)?

We very much need to promote contractor certification (one more vote for the certification process!) -- It was also suggested that a non-governmental agency could serve to operate this certification process.

If the training were able to available and open, it doesn’t really matter who participates in it! (Agency, contractors, landowners, etc.)

Dan Dearborn -- realistically he could commit to teach the basic courses one time in the next year. (He would not commit to spring.) -- We are going to have to draw on the potential resources that we have cooperatively.

We really need to get folks from all the associated agencies to commit to go through the process of becoming trainers them selves so that we have our own qualified trainers to draw on. -- Get the process started to train the trainers first.

For landowners benefits, we can then provide training workshops for interested landowners (similar to the Master Woodland Managers program or Forestry Field Days). These workshops don’t need to provide the structured federal course work, but will provide the whys, hows, whens, whom the contacts are, what the considerations and precautions may be, etc., etc.

TNC is proposing to work through Northwest Community College to put together a Landowners Workshop and also offer S-130/S-190 courses this coming spring.